Re-Fridge

We're wrapping up a busy 'pick-up season' here at Re-Fridge and now that we have a minute to breath, I wanted to give our audience of friends and users an update on what's going on.

On a personal note, I just graduated from Bates College in Lewiston. Looking back on four great, sometimes challenging years, I'm sort of sad to be leaving college, but excited about the added time I'll be able to put into my work and glad that my business will keep me close to the campus life.

This spring we did pickups at nearly 20 campuses in the north east. I think I speak for the entire Re-Fridge team when I say, ‘wow!’ We’re super pleased with our growth to date and a little surprised by how far we’ve come in a little more than a year.

In that time, we’ve had a lot of unique moments that have made us grateful, humbled, and excited. Here are a few:

Learning what sort of impact our model could have within our industry.

Look, ma! We’re on TV!

Competing on the Greenlight Maine challenge.

Participating in the Students for Zero Waste 2016 conference.

Partnering with Goodwill NNE to reuse their excess fridges.

We’ve just finished with our second ‘pick-up season,’ when we go around to campuses and collect mini-fridges. Over the summer, we’ll inspect and then clean and, if needed, recondition the fridges. But, truthfully, I’m looking forward to a little lull before that begins. 

It’ll be a short lull. Besides cleaning, inspecting, and refurbishing, we’ve got a lot to do this summer. We’ve decided to investigate and refine some of the internal operations in our company. That’s what the best companies do: As they grow, they learn and adapt their business processes. Even though I’m out of college now, I’ll never stop learning and incorporating new knowledge into what I do!

We also want to refocus our outreach strategy and are thinking about unique ways to reach our audience and get our message to new users.

Me, outside of Goodwill's store in South Portland, Maine.

Finally, in the last year we’ve been honored to make partnerships with a range of great businesses, schools, and other organizations. We think this is going to be a major part of growing our business and expanding our mission. So this summer and going into the next academic year, we’re going to be seeking even more partnerships, primarily with colleges and universities. 

So there’s a lot going on at Re-Fridge. But don’t worry, we’re going to make some time to get to the beach, take some hikes, and get out on the water this summer. I hope the summer is great for you too! Please feel free to drop us a line (in the form of a message, email to [email protected], or as a comment) and let us know how your summer is going too. 

Stay sunny,

College-based business creating greener processes with Goodwill NNE partnership

Aiming to reduce waste, Re-Fridge is partnering with Goodwill Industries of Northern New England to accept and re-home unwanted fridges.

Halfway through its second year of operations, Re-Fridge, a Brunswick-based company that operates primarily on college campuses, is partnering with Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (Goodwill NNE) to help them tackle a tricky problem: What to do with unwanted mini-fridges.

With 30 stores in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, Goodwill NNE is well known as a local option for donating unwanted goods and offering great deals on second-hand items. The nonprofit facilitates the reuse of merchandise, literally tons of it every year, with revenue going to provide jobs and job training for thousands of people. Mini-fridges, however, pose a problem. Because of changing environmental standards and the toxicity of refrigerants, safely storing and reselling fridges can be costly and time consuming, in addition to causing liability concerns.

This creates a burden for Goodwill NNE. While many safe mini-fridges sell in the stores, the ones that don’t sell are expensive to recycle.That’s where Re-Fridge comes in. Through the new partnership with Goodwill, Re-Fridge will purchase all unsold mini-fridges, thus providing a guaranteed buyer for one of Goodwill NNE’s most problematic items. Re-Fridge will also inspect and test those fridges, finding new homes for the ones in working order, fixing those in need of basic repair, and safely disposing of those that cannot be fixed at a reasonable cost.

“We are so proud of this partnership because it gets to the core of Goodwill's mission: Helping people and the planet. Re-Fridge is helping us re-use useful items that are otherwise expensive to recycle. That allows us to put that money into our Goodwill-designed workforce programs, which help people in our community build stable lives,” said Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, CEO of Goodwill of Northern New England.

Mitch Newlin, a senior at Bates College in Lewiston and the owner and founder of Re-Fridge, carries a mini-fridge in front of a Goodwill Northern New England store in South Portland. Newlin's company, Re-Fridge, which buys and sell used mini-fridge primarily to college students throughout New England, has just partnered with Goodwill NNE to purchase their unsold donated mini-fridges.

Re-Fridge is the brainchild of Mitch Newlin, a Brunswick native and current Bates College student in Lewiston. Through its app and website, the company creates a market for “previously loved” dorm room mini-fridges, according to Newlin. The business was born in 2015, after Newlin saw students leave unwanted belongings behind during ‘move-out’ at the end of the school year. Newlin offered to buy the mini-fridges that his classmates no longer wanted. He stored the fridges over the summer and then sold them to incoming students in the fall, delivering the fridges for free and undercutting big box store prices.

Since then, Re-Fridge has expanded to more than a dozen schools in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Purchases and sales are still facilitated through the company’s app and website, with local ‘campus reps’ and brand ambassadors on each campus to make pick-ups and deliveries and to do on-campus marketing.

“Working with Goodwill Northern New England is something we’ve thought about since we began our operations in 2015,” says Newlin, who is completing his last year at Bates College. “When they approached us to discuss a partnership, everyone in the management team was really excited. Not only will this allow us to have a larger impact in reducing waste, which is one of our primary goals as a company, but it just seemed like such a natural fit.”

According to Newlin, his team was approached in late 2016 during a conference in New Hampshire on the topic of reducing waste and promoting efficiency on college campuses. The Re-Fridge management team, spoke with Michael Howe to formulate and finalize the partnership. Howe has been the director of aftermarket business for Goodwill NNE since 2013, and he previously spent two years as the organization’s sustainability and recycling manager.

Well, we’re a month into the new year. The Re-Fridge management team nearly worked their collective butts off in 2016 and we’re excited about what 2017 will bring. We’re hitting the ground running. Check out what’s going on at Re-Fridge.

·      New schools! As of this spring, Re-Fridge will be operating at around 25 campuses in the northeast. Most recently, we’re in talks with students at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine, and Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., to bring Re-Fridge to those schools. You can see all the schools where we operate by visiting www.refridge.com/schools-we-serve/. Can’t find your school? Think Re-Fridge would be a good addition to your campus? Or are you curious about being a campus rep or brand ambassador at your school? Shoot us an email at [email protected] and let’s chat.

·      New events! Late last year we participated in an amazing conference called the Students for Zero Waste conference, hosted by our friends PLAN (the Post-Landfill Action Network) at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. It was awesome. We presented on low- and no-cost ways for student groups and other organizations to share their message, organize, and do business administration. It’s lessons we’ve learned by doing over the last two years, and we were honored and excited to share our pro-tips with diligent and dedicated student organizers and activists. A huge thanks to PLAN for putting on the conference and inviting us. Check out their website at www.postlandfill.org/ to learn more about how they help colleges reduce waste and increase efficiency. We learned some great tips ourselves and met amazing people. We’re looking forward to more work with PLAN in the coming year.

·      New partnerships! We’re super excited to be entering into a new partnership with Goodwill Industries Northern New England. That’s right. We loved their sweaters and second-hand records. Now we’ll be working with them to rehome their donated mini-fridges. Goodwill NNE is well known as a local option for donating unwanted goods and for offering great deals on second-hand items. The organization facilitates the reuse of merchandise, literally tons of it, every year, with revenue going to provide jobs and other services for thousands of people. However, as with many organizations that facilitate recycling and reuse, refrigerators and mini-fridges pose a problem. Because of changing environmental standards and the toxicity of refrigerants, safely storing and reselling fridges can be costly and time consuming, in addition to causing liability concerns. Starting soon, we’ll be purchasing Goodwill’s donated mini-fridges, repairing and refurbishing them, and then finding them new homes on college campuses across the northeast. Needless to say, we’re stoked. If you work for an organizations that receives donations and would like to chat with us about purchasing your donated mini-fridges, email us at [email protected].

We’ve got plenty going on. We hope you’ll stay tuned to our updates and news. Things move quick at Re-Fridge! So you can check out our Facebook page, Twitter, or Instagram for more.

We're excited and honored (and, okay, a little nervous) to be presenting at this year's Students for Zero Waste conference, presented by our friends PLAN, the Post Landfill Action Network, taking place at the University of New Hampshire in Durham on November 11 and 12. This is the third annual conference, with students and other attendees coming from all over the country to collaborate, share, and learn, all with a focus on reducing waste.

We've been working on a special presentation about low- and no-cost ways for student groups and other organizations to share their message, to organize, and do their business admin. Sure, it might be kinda dry, but we're hoping it will help groups make the most with smaller budgets. Plus, we're planning to put the whole presentation online after the conference so anyone can use our tips and tricks.

Here's some more info from PLAN about the upcoming conference:

Join the Post-Landfill Action Network as we host 500 students, activists, artists, academics and other zero waste heroes. We will convene to discuss challenges, share solutions, and imagine a world without waste. Be a part of it.

Full conference schedule: http://www.postlandfill.org/conference/

Information on travel scholarships and ridesharing available in registration: https://plan.eventsmart.com/events/students-for-zero-waste-2016/

Food and housing is provided! More information available in registration.

Speakers, workshop leaders, partners and sponsors include our friends at: Food Recovery Network, World Centric, Plastic Pollution Coalition, The Story of Stuff Project, 5 Gyres, Toxics Action Center, Energy Justice Network and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)

Questions? Email [email protected]

Since being introduced to the environmental group PLAN earlier this year, Re-Fridge management has been excited about the prospect of partnering, according to company founder Mitch Newlin.

PLAN, which stands for Post Landfill Action Network, is a cooperative, non-profit network of student leaders working to achieve zero-waste campuses at universities around the country. Based in Dover, N.H., the environmental network met last week with managers of Re-Fridge. Based in Brunswick, Maine, and operating on campuses around the northeast, Re-Fridge is a company that buys and sells used college mini-fridges. Beyond helping to recycle fridges, the company also donates 20 percent of its corporate profits to environmental and educational charities each year, says Newlin.

“Since we learned about them, we’ve looked up to PLAN as an organization doing everything right when it comes to reducing waste on college campuses. We are happy to announce that our friendship has developed into a very likely partnership,” says Newlin.

PLAN supports a network of student groups that work to make their campuses less wasteful and more sustainable. They offer step-by-step guidance and resources along the way, as well as connections to other sustainable businesses, non-profits, and waste management professionals, all to help student groups successfully facilitate their environmental initiatives.  

The idea for PLAN originated in 2011 when founder Alex Freid, along with a group of other University of New Hampshire students, orchestrated a program with the aim of reducing waste generated from students moving into and out of dorms. That year he collected all the things students were leaving behind or throwing out as they packed up to leave campus. Alex and his peers cleaned, organized, and stored everything they had collected over the summer, and then held a successful move-in sale at the beginning of the following year. With this model and the idea that campuses across the country were being similarly inefficient, Alex and a friend founded PLAN, which has now grown to support nearly 50 campuses, as they conduct similar move-out and move-in programs and other initiatives, saving literal tons of usable items from ending up in waste streams.

“Even though PLAN is a non-profit and Re-Fridge is a for-profit business, we noticed a lot of similarities in our aims, processes, and our larger goals. We feel very aligned with PLAN, so much that we’re talking about developing a move-out and move-in program along with students at the University of Maine in Orono.”

Having advanced to television round, young startup is excited at prospect of spreading their eco-friendly, business message

Photo courtesy Greenlight Maine.

Brunswick, Maine–Mitch Newlin, the founder and president of Re-Fridge, says he was feeling pretty good when he launched into his pitch to business experts two Saturdays ago, at Husson University’s Westbrook campus. Still, it was anyone’s guess what would happen.

The Re-Fridge team has recently learned that they will be one of 26 companies to compete in the semi-final round, out of more than 50 companies to enter the contest.

For his part, Mitch says his team is just excited to be part of the action. “Being asked to participate was an honor. Making it to the first pitch stage, same thing but even bigger. It's a great validation of our idea and our business model. Basically, from here on out, this is all just icing on the cake for us,” he says.

And to sweeten the pot, contestants have recently learned that the prize going to the winning team, last year $100,000, is going to be increased by an infusion from the Maine Department of Economic Development. This year’s challenge began with dozens of companies submitting video pitches to promote their organization and what they would do with the prize investment. That list of contestants was narrowed to about 35 businesses that pitched in front of business experts at Husson University in Westbrook, and has now been further narrowed to the short list of companies that will participate on the actual television show.

Mitch’s company, based in Brunswick, creates a market to buy, sell, and store used dorm room mini-fridges. The service relies on the company’s proprietary app, as well as free pick-ups and deliveries of fridges to college students on 15 campuses in the northeast. Mitch began his company in 2015 at Bates College while he was a sophomore there. Originally from Brunswick, Mitch continues to operate his growing company locally and will be returning to Bates for his senior year this September.

“If we were to win this year’s Greenlight Maine challenge,” says Mitch, “we would invest the money in our growth on campuses in New England and the northeast. And we would use part of the investment to further develop waste-reduction and zero-landfill-waste programs that we are working on in collaboration with environmental networks and university partners.”

Mitch was asked by organizers of Greenlight Maine to consider having Re-Fridge participate in this year’s challenge after they saw television and newspaper pieces about his company earlier this year. This season will be the second for Greenlight Maine, whose inaugural challenge was recently won by Garbage to Gardens, a Portland-based company that facilitates the collection of organic waste and the creation and sale of compost.

Greenlight Maine is not just a business challenge, but a half-hour television show, created by Portland Media Group and organized by Maine Startup and Create Week, which airs Saturday nights on WCSH-TV in Portland and WLBZ-TV in Bangor, following “Bill Green’s Maine.” Prize money for the challenge is provided by Maine Accelerates Growth, through a grant by The Maine Community Foundation, as well as the Maine Department of Economic Development.

For his part, Mitch says his team is just excited to be part of the action. “Being asked to participate was an honor. Making it to the first pitch stage, same thing. This is so neat to have our idea and our business model validated. Basically, from here on out, this is all just icing on the cake for us,” he says.

Whether in-state or out of state, the list of things you need for college just seems to grow and grow. No matter how many visits to Target or how many packages arrive from Amazon, it feels like it doesn’t make a dent on all “the essential” materials needed for college. You can print out list after list of suggested items, but we’ve found that just talking to friends in college can help narrow down the search for everything you need. Here are some of the top items you’ll need to bring, the obvious and not so obvious.

1. First aid kit

“You never know when you need a Band-Aid,” our friend Brooke, who just finished up her freshman year at Kent State University, warns. “You bring all your new, fancy shoes to college and you get blisters very quickly. Band-Aids are a must! Usually you’re screwed because no one has one. I stubbed my toe on the side of bed and I needed some neosporin. Thankfully, I had my first aid kit.”

First aid kits come as low as $15 on Amazon. Check out this one!

 (Image courtesy http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3rmejx)

2. Tool box

“There were so many times where someone needed a screwdriver to fix a light or something and nobody had one around,” says Sabrina, a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh. “I remember I had to go around the hall and look for one. I bought one soon after that.”

You can get one with all the basics and save yourself a trip looking for tools around the dorm. Amazon has them for as low as $18.

(Image courtesy https://www.machinemart.co.uk/c/new-steel-tool-boxes-and-chests/)

3. Mini-fridge

This is pretty obvious, however finding a good mini-fridge can be a problem. So check out Re-Fridge. They sell and buy back mini-fridges at low prices. The best part is they deliver them right to your dorm for free!

(Image courtesy http://www.drinkstuff.com/products/product.asp?ID=8585#.V213dY7qtmo)

4. Zip ties

We were skeptical when Brooke mentioned this one. However, she says that she used them a lot. “I zip tied my charger and extension cords to my bed and desk so they don’t lay on the ground and get lost! It was so nice and easy.”

(Image courtesy http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3t6ef4)

5. Microwave

Microwaves can break you away from the monotony of cafeteria food. Check out these easy recipes all done in a microwave.

(Image courtesy http://www.dvo.com/newsletter/weekly/2015/4-17-1971/cooknart8.html)

6. Antacids

Don’t learn the hard way about not having antacids around, our friend Jacob warns. “For dining hall food in the first few weeks, it’s a necessity.”

(Image courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antacid)

7. Handheld vacuum cleaner

“Remember to clean yours out regularly,” Audrey, a rising sophomore at Ohio State University, tells us. “I had to actually cut out hair after not cleaning it for the first semester. Girls especially shed a lot!”

Amazon has them starting at about $30.

(Image courtesy http://www.philips.com.sg/c-p/FC6149_61/minivac-handheld-vacuum-cleaner)

8) Air freshener

“No matter what you do, your dorm room is going to stink. There’s no ventilation in there,” Audrey says.

The one below is just $3 on Amazon.

(Image courtesy http://www.grandparents.com/health-and-wellbeing/health/are-air-fresheners-bad-for-you)

Re-Fridge is always looking to connect with, learn from, and share news about great organizations doing good things for the planet or for their customers. So we’re very excited to announce a new partnership with Publerati.

Publerati is a new concept, born in the early years of the digital revolution in book publishing, aiming to increase access to high-quality fiction from around the world and doing it with a social purpose. They promote increased access to high-quality fiction through the publication of new works as reasonably priced e-books for tablets, e-readers, and smartphones.

They donate no less than 15% of their publisher profits to literacy charities working to increase access to e-books, contributing to a lifelong love of reading, writing, and empathy among all peoples.

Publerati was founded in 2011 by Caleb Mason, who serves as publisher.

Like Re-Fridge, Publerati is dedicated to providing a unique service, pursuing business efficiencies, giving back to charity, and improving the world. That’s why, in the coming weeks, Re-Fridge and Publerati will be working together to determine how we can mutually help our brands.

In 2012, Publerati began a partnership that made all of its e-books available through Worldreader (worldreader.org), a non-profit aiming to boost literacy by providing digital books to children and teachers throughout the developing world. Publerati regularly donates publisher profits to Worldreader.

In January of this year, Publerati teamed up with TextCafe, a company that creates e-book previews, to provide innovative social media book sampling for associated authors.

You can learn more about Publerati by visiting their website at www.publerati.com.

Publerati on Facebook.

College is essentially one long ride on the struggle bus. From functioning on minimal sleep to avoiding the Freshman 15, it sometimes feels like classwork is the easiest part of college.

If you’ve ever lived with a college roommate, you’ve definitely dealt with these issues:

1.         The Hunger Games 

The greatest roommate struggles of all time? The war on leftovers. There is nothing worse than coming home from a long day of classes to find that your roommate ate the burrito you’ve been dreaming about all day.

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Unfortunately, there’s not much you do after your snacks have been sabotaged. Retaliation might be your only option.

2.         Sharing is caring difficult.

You learned about sharing in kindergarten, but weren’t prepared for the level of sharing that dorm life requires.  Sharing a room is tough enough, so watching your roommate dig through your stuff feels like a major invasion.

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If necessary, set boundaries. (But remember that dorm closets are tiny, so having access to two is a game-changer.)

3.         Alone time is rare. 

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? Even if you’re best friends, too much time together is a recipe for disaster.

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Compare schedules to find the primetime to nap.

4.         One of you will be the “messy roommate.”

“Clean” is a loosely-defined word in college.

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Before moving in, chat about dormkeeping expectations. Remember that compromise is key. If you’re a neat-freak, learn to deal with a little clutter. If you’re a total slob, try occasionally picking up your dirty socks.

5.         They’ll drive you crazy.

There is no such thing as a roommate that won’t annoy you.  Whether you’re BFFs or practically strangers, a time will come when simply hearing your roommate breathe will drive you nuts.

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We’re all human. (Meaning you’re probably pretty annoying sometimes, too.) Call your mom to complain and resist the urge to subtweet.

College student launches "Uber for mini-fridges" to save the planet one fridge at a time

Brunswick, Maine–Even as a sophomore at Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine, Mitch Newlin realized there had to be a better way.

In 2015, after seeing students leave unwanted belongings behind during “move-out” at the end of the school year, Newlin offered to buy the mini-fridges that his classmates no longer wanted. He stored the fridges over the summer and then sold them to incoming students in the fall, delivering the fridges for free and guaranteeing to undercut local big box stores. Earlier this year his vision evolved into Re-Fridge, a Brunswick-based company that launched in March on more than a dozen campuses in the Northeast.  

What began at Bates College has now spread to Colby and Bowdoin, Boston College and Boston University, and Massachusetts’s Five College Consortium, among others.

“Environmentalism and philanthropy aren’t just selling points for us,” says Newlin, 22. The mission of his new company includes a provision that 20 percent of total profits will be donated to charities that protect the environment and support efforts to promote global education. Newlin believes that his business model, which seeks to replace newly purchased mini-fridges with “pre-loved” units, is noteworthy for its environmental impact of reducing waste, packaging materials, and carbon emissions from the transport of new fridges.

As part of the company launch, Newlin says the company is offering a “buy now, pick-up later” program that will let students sell their fridges to Re-Fridge now but hold onto them for the remainder of the school year. Part of the company’s unique business model is its mobile-friendly service, which lets customers buy and sell mini-fridges with a few clicks from their phone or computer. The company also offers free delivery to and pick-up from a student’s dorm or off-campus address. Newlin is betting that this added convenience will help him compete against online services like Amazon, which typically deliver products to the college mail center, thereby requiring students to pick up their merchandise and get it back to their dorm.

This spring, the company is also offering a graduation gift service, through which family members of to-be high school graduates can purchase a fridge (fully stocked with a “college care package” of non-perishable items, according to Newlin) and have the fridge delivered directly to the student’s dorm at the start of the coming academic year.

He says his decision to devote 20 percent of profits to charity was met with skepticism by his business mentors. But he went ahead with the promise anyway.

“Rather than letting shareholders decide what amount of money they want to give back to charity or philanthropy, I wanted to see that this company would make positive change. So I wrote into the mission that 20 percent of all profits would be donated to charities,” he says. “It meant that shareholders couldn’t make the case that, you’re not following through with the fiscal responsibilities. I didn’t want our sole goal as a company to be making anyone lots of money.”

***

ABOUT Re-Fridge

Promoting environmental sustainability is part of our mission at Re-Fridge,but just how much environmental improvement will come from our work?

It’s a difficult question and one that we think about a lot. We’ve done a little homework and have found some interesting and promising estimates. Take, for example, the idea of extending the lifespan of mini-fridges. Our research suggests that if the lifespan of every mini-fridge in use on college campuses in the U.S. was extended by just one year, we would keep more than 11 million pounds of metals, glass, plastic, and chemicals out of the waste stream and eliminate 3.5 million pounds of carbon emissions - each year!

If you’re interested in reading our full analysis, check out our environmental sustainability statement below. Or maybe you’d like to be part of our efforts. Our calculations currently rely heavily on rather general academic studies, so we would appreciate hearing about any studies that specifically focus on the waste stream and greenhouse gas impacts of mini-fridges. Or maybe you, or someone you know, would be interested in doing some new research in this area. In addition, we would like to collect more data about the lifespans of mini-fridges by conducting a large-scale survey of mini-fridge owners. If you are a college student or former college student  who owns or owned a mini-fridge, please click here to take our environmental research survey.

Re-Fridge and Environmental Sustainability

One obvious way to reduce our collective environmental impact is to increase the lifespan of household appliances – longer lifespans delay the need for replacement, reducing the annual energy and material inputs needed for us to keep those appliances in our lives. By helping keep more mini-fridges in use during the prime years of their lifespan (rather than in parents’ basements or other storage), Re-Fridge reduces the annual quantity of materials going into the waste stream and the annual quantity of materials and energy needed to manufacture new mini-fridges. And of course, these reductions will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions as well.

Mini-fridges have an average lifespan of about 9 years,1 but they may spend more of their lifespan in storage than any other common appliance. While we haven’t yet found any reliable research on the true “use-span” of mini-fridges, our own survey findings indicate that the average mini-fridge used by a college student in the U.S. (aka a “college mini-fridge”) is actually used for only about 6 years.2 (This may be true for non-college mini-fridges as well, but our survey focused on college mini-fridges.) Our survey findings also suggest that the main reason for well-functioning college mini-fridges to be used for much less than the “normal” 9-year life-span is that they are often taken home by college students (consuming additional fossil fuel, btw) and put in storage for several years.

While some of these mini-fridges are eventually pulled back into use, by then they are often significantly less energy efficient than the mini-fridges that have been manufactured more recently, and environmental experts tell us that it’s better to put energy-inefficient appliances into the waste stream than continue to use them. In addition, while some of these stored mini-fridges may function for a while after being pulled out of storage, all mini-fridges continue to age somewhat while in storage, so their functioning lifespan is shortened by storage. The bottom line is that the environment would benefit if mini-fridges spent more of their prime years in actual use than in long-term storage in parents’ basements or elsewhere. This is where Re-Fridge comes in.

If Re-Fridge was able to keep every one of the 1.5 million college mini-fridges3 out of long-term storage and in actual use for just one extra year (from 6 to 7 years), this one-year ”use-span” increase would reduce the number of mini-fridges going into the waste stream by at least 250,000 per year (calculation based on a 6-year “use-span”). This would mean an annual waste stream reduction of over 5 million lbs. of ferrous metals, over 5 million lbs. of plastics, and over 1 million lbs. of glass, refrigerant and refrigerant oil.4 It would also mean a comparable reduction in the creation of materials and energy needed to manufacture and ship 250,000 replacement mini-fridges each year. And although it’s harder to quantify, it stands to reason that any “use-span” increase would also reduce the collective energy use by the “population” of mini-fridges in the U.S. because fewer old, energy-inefficient mini-fridges (that had been in long-term storage) would be in use – more of those mini-fridges would have been more “used-up” while still in their prime years.

But the disposal of functioning mini-fridges into already overburdened waste streams is just one of the energy-consuming phases of the refrigerator lifecycle. In the initial production and wide-scale manufacturing of mini-fridges, in their packaging and distribution, and in their ultimate disposal we see the use of huge quantities of natural resources, water, caustic chemicals, and energy derived primarily from fossil fuels. While Re-Fridge continues to investigate this lifecycle, in order to better understand our effect on it, we believe we can give some accurate estimates when it comes to packaging waste and the reduction of fossil fuel emissions from transportation of new fridges. Assuming, as we do above, that we keep 250,000 mini-fridges out of the waste stream (and therefore eliminate the need to create as many new ones), we estimate that we can remove 1.15 million pounds of corrugated cardboard, 50 thousand pounds of plastic film, and 175 thousand pounds of polystyrene from going into waste streams each year.5 We further think that this reduction in new fridges would mean an elimination of at least 3.5 million pounds of carbon emissions going into the atmosphere annually6 simply from reducing the pollution caused by transporting the fridges. And that’s just from extending mini-fridge lifecycles by one year!

As an important component of its mission, Re-Fridge aims to keep college mini-fridges in use during the prime years of their lifespan rather going into long-term storage and ending up in landfills without having been used to their fullest. Like many contemporary businesses, we want to find efficiencies and develop solutions to pressing environment and global problems. With the help of our users, we do this by reducing the annual quantity of materials going into the waste stream, reducing the annual quantity of materials and energy used to produce new fridges, and in turn reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.

1. In terms of mini-fridge longevity, compact refrigerators have a low lifespan of 4, high lifespan of 12, and average lifespan of 8 years (10, 18, and 14 respectively for standard fridges)(1). Some harder to verify sources have the average around 5 years (2) or 7-10 years (3). The National Association of Home Builders did a 2010 study that found 9 years on average (4). This being a more conservative estimate of the appliance industry study, we believe it to be a fair estimate. (1) Life expectancy of appliances as reported in the 23rd annual portrait of the U.S. appliance   industry. (http://www.mrappliance.com/expert-tips/appliance-life-guide/) (2) http://www.demesne.info/Home-Maintenance/Appliance-Life-Expectancy.htm (3) http://www.refrigeratorpro.com/compact-refrigerator.html (4) http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/whats-the-life-expectency-of-your-homes-new-technology.html

2. In March 2016 Re-Fridge conducted a survey of college students and grads who had owned a mini-fridge while attending school. Responses suggested the average lifespan of respondents’ mini-fridges was 6 years.

3. This figure is derived from an estimate of total U.S. enrollment and the percentage of students living on- and off-campus (1, 2, 3, 4) as well as an estimate of the percentage of college students owning mini-fridges (5). (1) http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/08/12/ready-or-not-77-million-kids-and-adults-heading-back-to-school-soon/ (2) According to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, a total of 2,064,130 people live in college dormitories. (http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t26/tab01.pdf) (3) http://nsse.indiana.edu/pdf/commuter.pdf (4) 1.8 million students live in dorms, according to a November 21, 2003, article in The Chronicle Review. (5) http://sustainability.williams.edu/files/2010/10/DormrefrigeratorsHoward.pdf

4. Based on the average size and material composition of a typical mini-fridge. We have determined these numbers through our own analysis of various mini-fridges on the market and in use.

5. The assessment of packaging materials and composition comes from a survey conducted on eco-friendly fridges, assessed based on the average dimensions and weight of a full-size refrigerator from that survey vis-a-vis the average dimensions and weight of a mini-fridge. Find that survey here: http://ac.els-cdn.com/S187802961200610X/1-s2.0-S187802961200610X-main.pdf?_tid=dd52f516-f5f5-11e5-96c6-00000aab0f26&acdnat=1459287383_bdb29a996ba76596885f05fcbf3073cd.

Why Your College Is Going Green (and how you can contribute, too)

The college experience can be ironic. Spending tens of thousands for the prospect of a high-paying job? Sure. A chance to “discover yourself” while being thrown into dorms and lectures with hundreds of other like-minded students? Check. But perhaps no facet of college is as glaringly ironic as the element of waste and inefficiency.

Colleges collect some of the brightest, most innovative people in the country, forward-thinking and environmentally conscious students and staff; and yet campuses are also some of the largest producers of environmental waste. Talk about an oxymoron. Maybe that’s why colleges across the country are taking steps to reduce their negative environmental impact.

Some pioneering schools–like College of the Atlantic, Green Mountain College, and the University of Minnesota at Morris–have achieved total carbon neutrality. A few years ago, Maine’s Colby College (located not too far from Re-Fridge’s headquarters, became the largest school to go carbon neutral.) Many other colleges and universities are working toward the same goal, such as Unity College, also in Maine.

In order to realize such a large environmental goal, college communities must institute a lot of changes. For example, one effort sweeping colleges is the banning of plastic bottles. Discontinuing the sale of bottled beverages, issuing reusable bottles to every student, and installing more water fountains around campus are just some ways that colleges and universities work toward reducing their plastic waste.

According to Ban the Bottle, an organization that works to end the use of disposable plastic bottles, more than 70 schools across the U.S. and Canada have joined the effort to eliminate plastic bottle waste on campus. (See how your school can get involved.) In tandem with the bottle ban it’s becoming popular to issue graduation robes made from recycled plastic bottles. Today, hundreds of students are marching in these recycled robes.

But institutional initiatives can only go so far. Real change will require active participation and innovation from students and faculty. That’s why we’ve put together this list, because even a small alteration in your daily actions can have a big impact when it comes to reinforcing your school’s sustainability efforts. Here are some ways to help:

1)     Carry a reusable water bottle wherever you go. Simple, right? According to Brita, Americans throw away an almost unbelievable 35 billion water bottles every year.

2)    Avoid eating on the go as much as possible. Carry-away boxes and disposable cups and utensils create a lot of waste, and they’ll still be decomposing when your great-great-great-grandchildren are in college. According to EcoWatch, half of all plastic is only used once and then thrown away.

3)     Think about energy use in your dorm. Turn off your lights and turn down the heat or air conditioning when you go to class. If you keep appliances and devices on an electric power strip, turn it off when you’re leaving your room.

4)     Buy used or accept hand me downs whenever possible. Pre-loved dorm supplies and appliances cut down considerably on packaging waste and energy usage. For example, Re-Fridge estimates that just by expanding the lifecycle of U.S. dorm room fridges by one year we could eliminate as much as 6 million pounds of trash from entering the waste stream annually.

5)    Take shorter showers. Even just a 3 minute cut will help save gallons of water. Imagine if everyone in your building did the same.

6)     Recycle all your paper. No, really, all of it. Botched printing job? Repurpose that paper for jotting down notes. End of the year cleaning? Remove staples from packets and metal spiral binding from notebooks and make sure it all gets put in the right bin.

7)     Better yet, buy or rent e-books instead of the old-fashioned paper versions. Take your notes electronically. And, if possible, hand in and share your documents through email. These small steps can eliminate enormous amounts of paper waste.

8)     Ride a bike. You’ll save money on gas, you’ll save the planet from further fuel emissions, and you might save yourself from that freshman fifteen gut.

7 Ways to Save Money in College (So You Can Afford to Graduate)

Besides spending thousands on tuition (thanks Mom and Dad!) there are plenty of ways to spend money in college, from setting up the perfect dorm to hitting Glastonbury during your semester in the UK. These seven (and a half) steps will help you save along the way, so you don’t have to shake down your couch for loose change to afford the cap and gown.

1) Don’t buy new, buy newish

The price of textbooks may be the biggest shock when arriving at college. Rather than dropping hundreds a semester on books, buy used. DealOz compares many online booksellers to ensure the best deal. Or check out Chegg, Bigwords, and Amazon. Buy used whenever possible. Even simpler, check with your school’s library and you may not have to buy in the first place.

2) University to the rescue

Computer meltdown? Yikes! Before rushing off to the Apple store, try your school’s tech department. Not only does your computer not have to be mailed away, but the cost of their services is usually wrapped up in your tuition already!

3) Get entrepreneurial

Staying hip in college can be hard. Earn money and de-clutter your closet at the same time by selling your clothing and accessories online. Try signing up for Tophatter, ThredUp, or Post Mark and you may also find new things at a cheaper price.

4) Speaking of which...

When settling into your dorm, the department store may be one-stop shopping, but it probably won’t help you save (or even make) money. Luckily, Re-Fridge is there to lend a hand. At the beginning of every school year Re-Fridge sells pre-loved mini-fridges to incoming freshmen at a fraction of the department store cost, and they deliver right to your dorm room, so you save both time and money!

5) Remember, newish

When going to a theme party, don’t rush to the mall, hit the thrift store. Goodwill or your local second-hand store has plenty of things to craft into the perfect outfit. So don’t drop mucho dinero on that authentic matador costume. It’s not like any of your friends will show up in that same bolero anyway!

6) Learn to host

Have the party come to you! You won’t need to spend money on a cover charge or entrance fee and no need for an Uber home. Make your soirée a BYOB or snack potluck. You’ll have plenty to eat and drink, but you won’t have to foot the bill.

7) Go online for more deals

Whether going away for spring break or meeting up with friends during your study abroad, look for deals on airfare and accommodation. Kayak.com compares flights across all airlines to show you the best deals. Check out Hostel World and Air Bnb for cool, cost-cutting, and culturally immersed stays.

And a halfsy to go on)

You’ve probably heard of Big Brothers Big Sisters before, as it is one of the longest-running and comprehensive mentorship programs in the country. BBBS matches at-risk children between the ages of six and 18 with a mentor whose influence helps them avoid engaging in risky behaviors. Part of the reason BBBS is so successful is because they carefully match each child with a caring mentor, ensuring that the two are compatible and able to build a life-long bond.

350 is part of a growing climate change movement. It gets its name from the scientifically recommended amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere needed to preserve the climate. Currently, there are about 400 parts-per-million of carbon dioxide in the air. And that number is going up by about two parts-per-million annually. Environmentalists warn that if we, as a global community, cannot turn this rate around and get to 350 parts-per-million or less, then our climate will experience irreversible changes. 350 has organized and led many marches and campaigns to spread awareness about climate change, to counter construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, and to get organizations to divest from fossil fuels.

The Sierra Club is one of the country’s largest environmental organizations. Founded by the renowned John Muir, their goals are to have everyone “explore, enjoy, and protect the planet”. And they accomplish this by preserving our national parks and reserves, finding alternative energy sources, and building an appreciation for nature’s beauty. Through numerous programs, the Sierra Club inspires many to stake a claim in the future of our planet and work to protect it.

Friends of Kakamega is a small but growing non-profit that partners with a grassroots orphan care project in western Kenya founded by local Kenyan Quaker women. The program supports vulnerable children whose parents have died from HIV and AIDS, as well as other causes, by matching children with American sponsors who provide finances for food, clothing, shelter, security, and education. In the past 14 years this project has brought many children, who otherwise had few educational opportunities, through elementary school, high school, and even college. The program also supports students through an agricultural self-help program.